communities. yes, much remains to be done. it's been decades since the birmingham police turned watch dogs on protesters. it has only been months since the u.s. supreme court rolled back voting rights. every day in fact every 30 minutes a child is a victim of gun violence. so the whites only signs may be gone but there's still signs of injustice all around us. children born poor today are likely to stay poor. high poverty schools where kids need so much are given the least. and discrimination based on race or sexual orientation may no longer be legal, but it is still lethal. martin luther king jr.

and others understood the intersection between racial equality and economic justice. the civil rights struggle is a struggle for good jobs and decent wages. and no while not the only solution they got, that educational opportunities is the highway to economic opportunity, which is why we must reclaim the promise of public education. and as i close, let me just say this, we stand here today as students, my friend and brother lee saunders, and myself, 50 years ago another gay person had to be in the shadows. but today i speak as a teacher, a worker, a labor activist, and a gay person deeply committed to my faith. \his is who we must be.

a country that believes in equality and acts on that belief. so let's take a lesson from king. let's unite. people of faith in a national day of prayer. to end child poverty. let's use sit-ins to oppose stand your ground laws. let's have freedom ring for the message of equality to save regards to immigrants as anything less than equal. and let all of us, not simply educators, not simply parents or kids, stage nonviolent protests in districts that fail to invest in public education that turn their back on struggling schools. we cannot let a son down, we cannot let generation of students down. that is why we marched. that is why we march. that is why we march. >> let's give him another round of applause.

he is our future, isn't he? in 1963, there was a march for jobs and justice. juanita steele is 81 years old. and a former day care teacher from new york city is here today participating in this march for justice and freedom and jobs. 50 years ago, sister steele prayed that would change hearts and minds. she listened as dr. king spoke about the fierce urgency, the fierce urgency of now. the whirlwinds have changed the new militancy. and five years later in 1968, she mourned with all of us when dr. king was killed in memphis where he had gone to support the 1300 sanitation workers.

decades have passed. times have changed. the new militancy of 1963 changed america and inspired the world. but the promise -- the promise of democracy has not been made real for all of us. the promise is not real for people who work hard and play by the rules every single day, struggling to pay their bills. the promise is not real for retirees who work hard all their lives but don't know how they will make it day to day. the promise is not real for students who graduate under so much debt they wonder if they will ever climb out of it. and the promise is not real for all of us if it is not real for all of us it is not real for any of us. so we are here to replenish our spirit, restore our faith, and renew our activism.

today we march for a nation where workers have decent pay, good benefits and rights on a job that no one can steal. today we march for a nation where the golden years of retirement are spent in peace, not in poverty. today we march for a nation where our children, no matter what they look like, where they live, or what they wear, can walk our streets in freedom and not in fear. today we march for a nation where we can cast our votes and have a say in our democracy without jumping through hoops or over hurdles. and today we march for a nation where aspiring citizens are respected as moms and dads and sons and daughters, and friends and neighbors, who contribute to america. but we cannot just march for this nation. we've got to do whatever we can to build it. don't let this moment pass. make this moment count. don't simply commemorate.

agitate. don't only memorialize. mobilize. take this spirit, take the spirit back to your communities, your neighborhoods, your schools. take this spirit back and keep it alive. take this spirit back and let us raise our voices together. let us demand justice together. let us demand fairness together. and together let us restore the american dream. ♪ >> coming up next, mlk-3, martin luther king iii. and here to introduce him is the

president of communities without boundaries, johnny mack. >> ladies and gentlemen, just four days shy of five score years ago, arguably the greatest civil action of the 20th century and one of the most significant in the history of humankind's struggle for its own identity took place. it was a day that hundreds of thousands of people of all persuasions gathered to hear the words of the old negro spiritual declaring the dream of the young martin luther king, jr. 50 years later, the son of that king has called us all together once again to gather at the feet of the great emancipator just wonder from the granite figure of his father and one of our founding fathers. he has called us together not just to celebrate nor merely to

commemorate. he has called us to fortify and innoculate our human spirit to galvanize and energize our collective consciences to take action to realize the dream. he has been an elected leader, the president of a southern christian leader conference, the head of the martin luther king jr. center for nonviolent social change, the founder of realizing the dream. he is a national civil rights champion, a global human rights crusader. he is the father of yolanda renee, the husband of andrea waters, the big brother of dexter and berniece, the younger brother of the late yolanda deniece. born of coretta scott king and the namesake of dr. martin luther king, jr., ladies and gentlemen, martin luther king iii.

♪ >> five decades ago, my father dr. martin luther king, jr., stood upon this hallowed spot. and the spirit of god spoke through him and summoned the nation to repent and to redress the shameful sins long visited upon its african american brothers and sisters. 50 years ago, he delivered a sermon on this mountain which crystalized like never before the painful pilgrimage and aspirations of african americans

yearning to breathe free in our own homeland. with martin luther king's lamenting were not an aspiring diatribe of true conditions of the day. no, indeed, his words are etched in eternity and echo through the ages to us today were a tribute to the tenacity of an intrepid people who though oppressed refused to remain in bondage. those words of martin luther king, jr., were a clarion call to all people of good will to rise up together, to make this nation live out the true meaning of its creed and to perfect within us a more perfect union. and so i stand here today in this sacred place in my father's

footsteps. i am humbled by the heavy hand of history. but more than that, i am -- i, like you, continue to feel his presence. i, like you, continue to hear his voice crying out in the wilderness. the admonition is clear. this is not the time for nostalgic commemoration nor is this the time for self- congratulatory celebration. the task is not done. the journey is not complete. we can and we must do more. the vision preached by my father a half century ago was that his four little children would one day live in a nation where they would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. however, sadly the tears of trayvon martin's mother and

father remind us that far too frequently the color of one's skin remains a license to profile, to arrest, and to even murder with no regard for the content of one's character. regressive stand your ground laws must be repealed. federal anti-profiling legislation must be enacted. comprehensive immigration reform must be adopted to end the harassment of our brown brothers and sisters and to provide a path to citizenship to them today just as was done for the millions who passed through ellis island's splendid gates yesterday. 50 years ago, my father and sister said we cannot rest and be satisfied as long as black folk in mississippi could not vote. and those in new york believed that they had nothing for which to vote.

today the united states supreme court, having recently eviscerating the voting rights act and with numerous states clamoring to legislatively codify voting suppression measures, not only must we not be satisfied but we must fight back boldly. too many of our unknown heroes and sheroes fought, bled and died for us to have the precious rights of vote. for us to now sit back and timidly allow our franchise to be taken away or diminished, we must not rest until the congress of the united states restores the voting rights act protections discarded by a supreme court blind to the blatant tests of the black folks. paramount to martin luther king jr.'s fervent dream was the commitment that african americans gain full economic opportunity and not be confined to basic mobility forward from a

smaller ghetto to a larger one. today, with 12% unemployment rates in the african american community and 38% of all children of color in this country living below the level of poverty, we know that the dream is far from being realized. with the once mighty city of detroit in the throws of bankruptcy and countless other cities teetering on the brink, there is a fierce urgency to act now. if the big auto makers and major financial institutions were too big and too important to fail, why is not the same true of the major urban centers which are populated by millions of poor blacks and brown and white hungering for nothing more than a decent job to provide for themselves and their families? why shouldn't historically black colleges and universities desperate for stability be given

the assistance which will enable them to continue their noble mission of educating both the best, brightest, as well as the least of these? as we struggle to recover from the worst economic calamity since the great depression, america needs a new marshall plan for our cities to provide jobs, infrastructure improvements, and a true lasting stimulus to the economy. while we are inspired today by the majesty of power of my father's exhortation of yesterday year we must be mindful of this imperative of love. he sought the beloved community where we could live together with peace and equality. we must embrace that love and cease the violence. no more senseless newtown or columbines, no more daily killings of our young people by our young people on the streets

of chicago and countless neighborhoods across the country. we need more gun control but we also need more love. yes, we all need love for each other, black, white, and yellow, red and brown, gay and straight, christians muslims and jews. and all of god's children loving one another. we must embrace love and hold on to that powerful spiritual which inspired my father's generation and inspires us still today. we aren't going to let nobody turn us around. we aren't going to let nobody turn us around. we are going to keep walking. we're going to keep on talking. we're going to keep on voting. we're going to keep on job building. we're going to keep on educating. we're going to keep on mentoring. we're going to keep on community building. we're going to keep on ending violence.

we're going to keep on creating peace. we aren't going to let nobody turn us around. we are going to keep marching down to freedom land. so when i stand in your presence today and reflect on the fact that my beloved sister yolanda deniece did not live to see the full realization of the heartfelt dream held by our father for his four children, i am sad but not entirely sad for i am reminded that he knew that the arc of the moral universe is long but it does stand toward justice. so another yolanda, our daughter, you saw her come out here with me, our daughter has been sent by god into this world and the dream will live on through her. thus i know that daddy is smiling up above knowing that your presence here today will assure the fulfillment of his dream in the lifetime of yolanda renee king.

i can almost hear my father humming that anthem of the movement, people get ready there's a train coming. people get ready, there's a train coming. a train that takes us to a land where we have decent houses and not false house, a land that has schools that teach our children and do not defeat our children, a land where we have enterprising entrepreneurs and not incarcerated inmates, a land where we have fathers who create stable families and do not merely procreate innocent babies. yes, the train to the freedom land 50 years ago martin luther king jr. boldly ignited a mighty torch to guide our freedom led to us to our freedom train land here, and we are today standing in the midst of that eternal flame. if we could all but catch a flicker from that ferocious flame of freedom we could each

light a small candle of courage and in our own voice cry out, this little light of mine. i'm going to let it shine. if we each let our own little light shine, then we shall truly overcome. yes, if we each do our own small part in our home, in our churches, in our schools, on our jobs, in our organizations, in every aspect of our lives to advance the cause of freedom, then surely a change is going to come and take it from me some day we will all be free. and on that triumphant day we will offer up our praise to the god of our weary years, the god of our silenced tears who has brought us thus far on the way who has led us into our light. and together we as the people, we as a nation, and indeed we as the world will proclaim in

unison, mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the lord. glory, glory hallelujah glory, glory hallelujah glory, glory hallelujah his truth is marching on. god bless you. [applause] ♪ >> next, distinguished theologian and international speaker and chairman of the board of the national action network, reverend dr. franklin richardson. >> good afternoon.

it is my privilege to bring greetings on behalf of the board of directors of the national action network, more than 72 chapters in 60 cities across america. on behalf of the staff and the many members of the national action network i greet you today as chairman. and to celebrate this high moment we have come here today to culminate a long journey that began 200 years ago, the moment an african american enslaved african rejected slavery. 50 years ago we came to a high moment and in the past 50 years we've had tremendous achievement, we've had tremendous accomplishments. and it is that achievement that makes us believers in the future. in every generation we have had great voices and great leaders. today it is my privilege to present our keynote speaker, the

one who has become the voice of this era. for the last 40 years the reverend al sharpton has been evolving as a great and stirring leader shaped by these times to lead us into this era. he has sacrificed his life, his body, he has taken attacks, he has been mistreated, misunderstood, but thanks be to god he has been persistent. he has never given up. he has always been a voice for the voiceless. he is always aligned with the marginalized, he has always represented the hurting and he has always been a voice for justice. he is our leader, the president of the national action network. it is my privilege then to present for the keynote moment the reverend al sharpton

president of the national action network. ♪ [applause] >> thank you. 50 years ago, they did not take a bus outing to come to washington. there will be those that will miscast this as some great social event. but let us remember 50 years ago some came to washington having rode the back of buses. some came to washington that couldn't stop and buy a cup of coffee until they got across the

mason dixon line. some came to washington sleeping in their cars because they couldn't rent a motel room. some came to washington never having had the privilege to vote. some came having seen their friends shed blood. but they came to washington so we could come today in a different time and a different place and we owe them for what we have today. [applause] i met a man not long ago, i tell it often, he says i'm african american but i don't understand all this civil rights marching you're talking about, reverend al. i've accomplished, i've achieved. look at my resume.

i went to the best schools. i'm a member of the right clubs. i had the right people read my resume. civil rights didn't write my resume. i looked at his resume. i said, you're right. civil rights didn't write your resume. but civil rights made somebody read your resume. [applause] don't act like whatever you achieve you achieved because you were that smart. you got there because some unleaded grandma who never saw the inside of a college campus put their bodies on the line in alabama and mississippi and sponsored you up here. [applause]

today we face continuing challenges. what do we want? we want the congress to rewrite a voting rights act and we want to protect our right to vote. they are changing laws all over this country that congress needs to make federal law that will get through this congress and deal with what the supreme court has done. right now in texas and north carolina and other places they're coming with all these schemes, voter id. well, we always had id. why do we need new id now? we had id when we voted for johnson.

we had id when we voted for nixon. we had id when we voted for those that succeeded him, carter, reagan, bush, clinton, bush again. why when we get to obama do we need some special id? [applause] but i'll tell you what we're going to do. when we leave washington, we're going to go to those states. we're on our way to north carolina. we're on our way to texas. we're on our way to florida. and when they ask us for our voter id, take out a photo of evers, take out a photo of good man, cheney and swanger, take out a photo of viola luisa.

they gave their lives so we could vote. look at this photo. it gives you the idea of who we are. [applause] second, we need jobs. we didn't come here just to talk. we want voter legislation, we need jobs. and if we can't get jobs, we need to continue these marches. and if we get tired we need to sit down in the offices of some of those here that don't understand folks want to work and earn for their families. 50 years ago dr. king said that america gave blacks a check that bounced in the bank of justice and was returned marked insufficient funds.

well, we've redeposited the check. but guess what. it bounced again. but when we look at the reason this time, it was marked stop payment. they have the money to bail out banks. they had the money to bail out major corporations. they had the money to give tax benefits to the rich. they have the money for the 1%. but when it comes to head start, when it comes to municipal workers, when it comes to teachers they stopped the check. we're going to make you make the check good or we're going to close down the bank. [applause]

[chanting] let me say that, three, we need to deal with building what must be built around gun violence. we cannot sit around and watch the proliferation of guns in our communities and in any community. we've got to fight against this recklessness that make us so insensitive that we shoot each other for no reason. let me say that our young brothers and sisters, many that

were on the program, we owe a debt to those that thought enough of you to put their lives on the line. we owe a debt to those that believed in us when we did not believe in ourselves. and we need to conduct ourselves in a way that respects that. don't you ever think that men like med gar evers died to give you the right to be a hoodlum or to give you the right to be a thug. that is not what they gave their life about. we need to talk about how we address one another. how we respect one another. we need to teach our young folk i don't care how much money they give you, don't disrespect your women. [applause]

no matter what they promise you, make it clear that you know that rosa parks wasn't no ho and fannie lou wasn't no bitch. [applause] we've got some house cleaning to do. and as we clean up our house, we will then be able to clean up america. let me say as we fight for voter rights, as we fight for jobs, as we fight for immigration, as we fight for equality, let us not try and limit the coalition. we need all of us together. these bogus arguments about, well, they didn't suffer like us or they are not as bad as us,

the most insane thing for sick people to do is to lay in the hospital debating about who is the sickest. we all need to unite and get well together. we should not be comparing pain. we ought to be strategizing and coalescing for all of us to have equal justice under the law and equal opportunity. you know, i want to raise this and then we're going to do something i think special and we march. i keep hearing people talking about dr. king's dream. when i was younger, i said to my mother, my friends say why are we dreaming? you need to be awake to fight.

well, my mother said to me, you've got to understand what dreams are for. dreams are for those that won't accept reality as it is. so they dream of what is not there and make it possible. they will romanticize dr. king's speech. but the genius of his speech was not just the poetry of his words. the genius of his speech is what blood shed in birmingham, with medgar evers having been kill, where one of his coleaders in jail. he didn't stand here and discuss the pain. he didn't stand here and express the anger. he said in the face of those who wanted him dead that, no matter

what you do, i can dream above what you do. i see a nation that will make change if we pay the price. others saw voting booths we couldn't. but king saw the possibility of an obama 50 years ago. the world is made of dreamers that change reality because of their dreams. and what we must do is we must give our young people dreams again. that's what lee saunders and randi winegarden was talking about. you take the funds, you take the expertise, and you tell the children they're nothing and you tell them they're not expected to be nothing, you build jails and close schools, and you break their dreams and you wonder why they're walking around with their pants down. because that's what you wear in

jail. and if you think that's where you're headed you might as well get dressed before you get there. we need to give them dreams again. not to worry about baggy pants but baggy mentality if we told them who they could be and what they could do they would pull up their pants and go to work. we've got to change how we deal with this. so we come to say that we are leaving here as they did 50 years ago and we're going to do nonviolently what is necessary to put the climate in this country that will lead to a voting rights act, we're going

to do what is necessary to do what we have to do nonviolently to have a jobs bill based on the infrastructure, we're going to register voters in each state, we're doing town hall meetings in the next 60 days we're going to target numbers and target districts. we need to bring new voters to the polls based on the principles and objectives of the movement. i do not know much about cooking. but i did learn how to make pancakes. my mama taught me that all you have to do is put down the stuff and hit it over. i do not know that much about politics, but i know how to do something. we need to flip the folks in congress next year. [applause] as we march today, we marched with a determination to let you

know that we do not have amnesia. we did not forget the price that was paid. there were too many nights in jail for you to take our vote from us now. our votes were gotten in the blood of martyrs. we earned the right to vote with protests and we will retain what -- regain what we lost in the supreme court with a protest that is on its way. there was another dreamer as i close. a dreamer in the bible called john. john looked up and said, i see a new heaven. i see a new earth. all things are passed away.

i come to tell you, i know why they are screeching and hollering and talking crazy. because all of america has passed away. old america that only worked for white males has passed away. old america that only worked for english-speaking has passed away. old america that tells you who to sleep with but doesn't put food in the kitchen has passed away. old things have passed away. we see a new america. we are seeing an america of equality, justice, fairness. we march because we are going to bring a new america, one nation, under god, indivisible with liberty and justice, not for who you choose, not for who you like, but for all.

we believe in a new america. it is time to march for a new america. it is time to organize for a new america. it is time to register and vote for a new america. we are on our way. we are on our way. we are on our way. [cheers and applause] as we prepare to march, i want some of our leaders to stand with me. we want to honor and dedicate what we are doing to a man that made the long road and a long journey.

reverend richardson, kevin powell, all of these young leaders. ika, dominique. i want us to show respect and regard for a man who has, every day in the last decade, fought for us. we are not ending the program without thanking those who made a way. the bible says honor thy father and mother, not for their day, but for your day will be long on the land which god giveth thee. rev. joseph lowery stood in the heat of the day. reverend joseph lowery has paid

the price. because of people like him, are -- we are here today. another warrior who was abused and took it so we could vote is here with us today. never got recognition, but now he is the winner of the medal of freedom from the first african- american president in the united states. he will come and have words and present the southern christian leadership conference. that is the organization that dr. king founded. that was the organization that did direct action. i grew up in the new york branch

of the sclc. i tell you he's -- these young folk, i grew up in a single- parent home on welfare. rev. jesse jackson told me i was somebody. i believed him. no man ever told me i was nobody. if no one ever gives you credit, i will because you helped turn my consciousness around. let's hear from the legendary -- did i forget anybody? >> thank you, my brother. >> i do not want to leave out --

>> hello, good people. we are here again. after a half century, we are here again. let's think about what it was we really came to do. this 50th anniversary was to remind us of the time when we did not have too many leaders as we have today. but more than that, to remind us of what we did in the past, but only for a minute. we have to really think, what are we going to do when we go home? what are we going to organize around? what problems are we going to solve? what are we going to do?

we have to position ourselves to create, to solve the problems of our immediate future. in a short time, we changed the most powerful nation in the world. we made it speak to us when it did not want to speak to us. we made it lifted its head and pay attention to black america when the day was gone in their minds, when they would not have to think about it. but the most powerful nation in the world had to listen to us and it is giving a way for our future as they pass off of the saving ourselves became the greatest drama of our time. we won. our message worked. we gave faith to oppressed people all over the world. the greatest spiritual leadership in america has been by african americans and it can

be again if we choose to do it. if we do not choose to do it, we will not be. but if we choose to do it, we can create the future not only for ourselves, but for america itself. our movement and struggles in the streets, in the courts, in the churches was more than a political struggle. it was a moral and spiritual struggle against hate and violence and racial and cultural hypothesis. -- hypocrisy. we see it coming back around the corner when we think of -- it -- of florida. when we think about it, it makes us understand that the problems we have to solve immediately, the now problems are that the long-term problems we will wait for later. right now, we have to organize to deal with the immediate problems so that we can have the

victories we need to solve the long-term problems. we can solve them. among them must be dropouts. allowing be a people 45% of our young people to drop out of school before they graduate from high school in a world where it is taken for granted that you have to have a college degree in order to do anything. we can solve that problem if we choose. we can do it on a daily basis and for the next year. if we cannot be a striving, forceful nation of people -- how did w. e. b. dubois call it? we are a small nation of people within. if we can organize it, we will be the future, not only looking

at those who create the future, we can be the future. this is what we have really been working for during the last 50 years. we must organize to win, organize every segment of life. our fraternities and sororities are already organized, already educated. let them be those who educate those who have dropped out. organize just as we do when we're listening to al talk about politics. it wasn't a quick minute. he has been at it for a long time. we listen to it on tv because we know he has the knowledge we need. when we think of that, let's think of those who have the knowledge and plan to educate every dropout who wants to lift themselves. we can do it because we have the

people to do it. if we organize the people that we have come out tomorrow is ours. if we fail to organize, we will not have it. any and every problem of now -- the problem of now is voter registration. we are going to have to have about 700,000 people organized at every block in black america to make it work. if you don't want to work, you cannot have it. if you are willing to work, you can have whatever you want. we can solve any problem we have. all of our major organizations talk of joining together. every organization knows that this will create a new movement. we need those that can lead it. we need those who are their own

leaders to create a world in which we can operate. we are still the movement for change, the new people's movement for change. every struggle makes a greater struggle necessary. this is what we are here for. let us leave here and do it. [applause] >> let us call chairman lafayette to join c.t. vivian to present this award. who's got the mic to give dr. lowery? dr. joseph lowery.

y'all move that umbrella. he does not wear polka dots. >> thank you, thank you for those kind words. thank you, c.t., those eloquent words. i thank god for the privilege to be here with you today. 50 years later, i never dreamed that when we had the committee with dr. king -- we never dreamed we would be here 50 years later. we never dreamed we would see an african american president.

thank god we lived not only long enough to see the march on washington, but to see an african-american president. i was looking through some old sermons. i found one that i dusted off and i'm going to preach it again. the name of it was, "everything has changed and nothing has changed." that is where we are in america. everything has changed and nothing has changed. as we look at the parents of the young man from florida, as we look at people like johnny ford and others on the platform -- i am not sure what they are doing, but they are getting ready to do something. i want to say to you that

everything has changed and nothing has changed. we have come up here for two reasons. not just to come to washington, we come to washington to commemorate. we go back home to agitate. i do not think you heard me. we come to washington to commemorate. we are going back home to agitate. because while many things have changed, some things have not changed. we want to go back home to complete the unfinished tasks. we come to washington to commemorate. we go back home to agitate. i do not think you heard me. we come to washington to commemorate. we are going back home to agitate. we come to washington to commemorate. we are going back home to

agitate. somebody ought to help me. we come to washington to commemorate. we are going back home to agitate. one more time. we come to washington to commemorate. we are going back home -- i want to hear from the people by the pool. we come to washington to what? >> commemorate. and we are going back home -->> to agitate. we have come a long, long way and we have a long way to go. god bless you and keep you, and thank you for acknowledging me. i see sister king over there. i will not do all the talking and not let her say anything. i stand with the women.

you will not get me to take a position against the women. hello. hello. god bless you and keep you. we will work for that day when justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream. we will not be asked to get back. when brown can stick around. when yellow can be mellow. when the red man can get ahead man. and when white will behave all right. we come to washington to commemorate. we are going back home -- >> to agitate. >> reverend lowery. give him a hand. are we ready to march? do not start ganging up.

we are doing this orderly. elder king is going to give us a prayer. then we will start lining up. be cool, you inc. going to be -- you ain't going to be up front no how. why do we march? governor deval patrick is here from massachusetts. he did not want to talk. he has come to march. we march because in the 1950's it was emmitt till. now it is trayvon martin. let me bring the family of emmett till and the parents of trayvon martin. [cheers and applause] give them some love. [applause]

>> thank you. they say i have one minute. in mississippi, they were generous with the time. on this day, 58 years ago, it was the location for the dream. my cousin and i, emmett till, my brother and my nephew, we went to a little town in money, mississippi. while we were there, emmett whistled at carolyn bryant. because he whistled, he was killed and shot in the head. we cried. our hearts were broken -- the paper said there is a time,

for all things under the sun, there is a time to weep. in our country, when an american stopped another american, shot him like a dog, and the jury said, not guilty, it is crying time again. we need to do something. young people, listen to me. i was so upset. i wanted to see who was supporting them. i wanted to see who was buying advertising time. i saw a two japanese automobile makers. i have one of those automobiles. before i buy that automobile again, i will buy a skateboard. we have to change the system, young people. this is your homework. go home and see who is

supporting these bigots on our television. do something about it. do not buy their products. they tell me they are british. they fired their guns and the british kept coming. they fired once more and the british began to run. we are not going to run. they fired the first shot when they shot emmett.they fired the second shot when they shot medgar evers. they fired the second shot when they shot dr. king. we are not going to run. we are going to change this system. thank you so much. [applause] >> the mother of trayvon martin, miss sybrina fulton. [applause] >> as i said before, trayvon

martin was my son. he is not just my son, he is all of our sons. we have to fight for our children. it is very important that we not it is very important that we not forget, that we make sure we are mindful what is -- of what is going on with the law. remember that god is in control. thank you. >> let us prepared to march. we will be led in prayer. they will get you grid by grid. let us hear from the one who onvened these five days, the ceo of the team -- king center in atlanta, georgia, elder king.

> if you would connect hands to whomever you are near, we are going to play. god of our silent tears. god who has brought us thus far on the way. god, we thank you that you ontinue to be with us to every situation and circumstance. e bless you, lord god, for this great august body of people who have assembled here 0 years later. we thank you, god, that the spirit that inspired those 50 years ago is inspiring us today, either. -- father. we are continuing the struggle. as my mother said, freedom is a

never ending process. in this generation, we are taking a baton and we are determined to be vigilant until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like the mighty stream. we pray that you will bind us together like never before regardless of our background and regardless of our differences. give us the strength and the courage and the humility to transcend those differences hat we might be able to join together as a freedom forced to continue to move this nation and this world thisforce --

force to continue to move this nation forward. all things have passed away and all things are being made new. e thank you,, lord god -- you, lord god, that there was a joshua generation. with every step that we take, we are stomping on the enemies of our progress. e thank you, lord god, that we are stomping on those that keep us -- seek to keep us separated and divided. we thank you that we are stomping against violence and crime. we thank you that we are stomping against those who think they have the audacity to stand their ground and take lives senselessly. we thank you that the stand your ground laws are defeated. s we march together, we walked ogether like children and we

will not get weary. we hold on to gena like children. we struggle and -- we hold on together like children. we pray together so we do not get tired. we know that at some point we will all be able to join with dr. king and say free at last, free at last, thank god almighty, free at last. thank you, and in jesus' name, men. >> let us set up our front lines.

♪ ♪ ♪

oises] [[indiscernible]

[crowd noises]

crowd singing]

[crowd singing lane on me] ]- lean on me

-- wled chanting ]crowled chanting

[crowd chanting]

>> i don't know what you came to do. >> i don't know what you came to do. > i come to walk this march. [crowd singing]

>> will have more on the march on what -- in washington. jimmy carterand are expected to attend with live coverage on c-span. on the next "washington journal, we will discuss the current foreign policy challenges we face in countries like egypt and syria. , we will look at some of the people being talked about as potential successors to ben bernanke. ,hen, dr. ronald waldman

president of doctors of the world usa talks about recent humanitarian efforts in turkey, jordan, and lebanon in response to the health impact of the syrian war. take your phone calls, e-mails, and tweets. this weekend posses newsmakers, debbie joins us. the chair of the democratic national committee. she joins us from a meeting in arizona to talk about a variety of issues, including the party 's strategy heading into the 2014 election. here is some of what she talks about on that topic. >> as i am sure you are where. -- aware. , they have really undercut the whole democratic

line that there is a "war on women." how do you answer that? >> i point to the 18 point gap president obama and democrats enjoyed among women voters in the last election, and that when it comes to our policies, related to the issues that matter to women versus the republicans part is debt policies, women overwhelmingly support democrats and president obama's agenda. we are right on the issues and they are wrong. sure womenmaking have access to reproductive health services, without interference from the government. we support making sure we have the strongest possible education so our children can get the best education and grow generationhe next leaders of the country. we ensure when it comes to childcare that women have an opportunity to go to work and balance work and family every

day. thingsre all republicans have quite literally done everything they could to derail the policies and positions most important to women and that matter to women. on women that the republicans have been engaged -- relates toy to the policies we have in this country and republicans are trying to distract from the fact they are completely wrong on most issues that matter to women in the country. the results of the election -- the election last year demonstrate and continue to demonstrate that. >> you can watch the entire interview sunday at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. in a few moments, president obama giving his weekly address, followed by the republican address. see, another opportunity to

today's rally at the lincoln memorial commemorating the 50th anniversary of the march on washington. very well-gin with a known american novelist,, one of our best writers. what brought you to the march on washington? >> i was born in this country, and more completely, i felt there was no reason not to be involved in the most significant, most important, most noted demonstration to free americans that has ever happened in the country. >> like most americans, i express my support of civil rights largely by talking about it at cocktail parties. this summer, i could no longer pay only lip service to a cause that was so urgently right in a

time so urgently now. >> sunday, american history tv with historic and contemporary roundtable discussions, a visit to the national portrait gallery, the 1960 posses civil right movement, starting at 1:00 p.m. eastern part of american history tv every weekend on c-span three. early on, we had a 16 acre piece of land. we had to put something on it. maybe not. it was an open-ended, what do we do with that? everyone wanted a say. ary quickly, leaders promised public process to receive public input, to generate a master plan. at the same time that was going on, you had larry silverstein, and they really

believed in the importance of the commercial space that was destroyed. they wanted to make sure he remained in international financial hub. they believed in order for it to remain that reputation, they had to rebuild all the commercial space. >> the controversy of the rebuilding outside the world trade center. the battle for ground zero sunday night at 9:00 on "afterword."

>> in his weekly address, president obama outlined his plans to make higher education more affordable for students. indiana governor gave the republican address. he talks about the republican approach to help the american middle class. >> hi, everybody. over the past month, i've been visiting towns across america, talking about what our country needs to do to secure a better bargain for the middle class. this week, i met with high school and college students in new york and pennsylvania to discuss the surest path to the middle class - some form of higher education. but at a moment when a higher education has never been more important, it's also never been more expensive. that's why, over the past four years, we've helped make college more affordable for millions of students and families with grants and loans that go farther from before. but students and families and taxpayers cannot just keep subsidizing college costs that keep going up and up. not when the average student now graduates more than $26,000 in debt. we cannot price the middle class out of a college education. that's why i proposed major new reforms to make college more affordable and make it easier for folks to pay for their education. first, we're going to start rating colleges based on

opportunity - are they helping students from all kinds of backgrounds succeed, and on outcomes - their value to students and parents. in time, we'll use those ratings to make sure that the colleges that keep their tuition down are the ones that will see their taxpayer funding go up. second, we're going to jumpstart competition between colleges over innovations that help more students graduate in less time, at less cost, while maintaining quality. a number of schools are already testing new approaches, like putting more courses online or basing course credit on competence, not just hours spent in the classroom. and third, we're going to help more students responsibly manage their debt, by making more of them eligible for a loan repayment program called pay-as- you-earn, which caps your loan payments at 10 percent of what you make. and we'll reach out directly to students to make sure they know that this program exists. these reforms won't be popular with everybody. but the path we're on now is unsustainable for our students and our economy. higher education shouldn't be a luxury, or a roll of the dice; it's an economic imperative that every family in america should be able to afford.

thanks, and have a great weekend. >> hello, i am indiana governor mike pence. these are difficult days for too many americans. our economy isn't growing as fast as we like and businesses are creating as many jobs as we need. in states like indiana, we are working everyday to give people more feed them to grow their businesses during overregulation, higher taxes and new mandates coming from washington dc are stifling our economy and hurting efforts being made in states across the country. everywhere i go in indiana, i meet business owners and workers who are in survival mode. they are trying to figure out how to survive the new normal of more regulations, higher taxes and the impending costs and mandates of the affordable care act, also known as obamacare. as implementation of this law gets closer, we are learning more about the earnings it will place on americans. in indiana, the affordable care act will raise the average cost of health insurance in the individual market by an unaffordable 72%.

in addition, the obama administration is creating confusion in the marketplace. from the suspension of a cap on expenses to providing subsidies without verifying income, to a one-year suspension of the employer mandate, this healthcare law is weighing down our economy. it is costing jobs, discouraging investment and making the future bleak for too many families. there is an alternative to waiting on washington dc to come to its senses, and more americans are realizing every day that a cure for what ails this country is starting to emerge. not in our nation's capital, but in our nation's state capitals. all across this country, 30 republican governors are working hard to push back and preserve freedom. while washington raises taxes, republican governors are cutting them. as washington stifles job growth

by adding new regulations, republican governors are adding jobs. by eliminating unneeded regulations and bringing fresh approaches to some of the nation's greatest challenges. nowhere is this more true than in healthcare. here in indiana, we run a nationally recognized a program called the healthy indiana plan. it offers the uninsured and affordable healthcare plan with savings accounts that they control, giving people in indiana more freedom and more responsibly over their healthcare. this has improved outcomes. 95% of our plan's enrollees are satisfied with their coverage. this is a perfect example that by freedom and personal response ability working together, you reduce the need for government. republican governors understand this and the provision our results. these are tough times. this healthcare law may make them tougher still. that is why we should always remember on whose shoulders bestowed. never forget, as president reagan reminded us, that the states created the federal government, the federal government didn't create the states. our founders insisted that protecting the state's power to govern themselves was vital to limit the power of washington and preserve freedom. they were right then and as republican governors are proving every day, they are even more right now.

more freedom and flexibility for the principal leadership emerging in states across the country can and will promote good health care and a healthy economy. thanks for listening. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> on the next "shpoli

challenges we face in countries like egypt and syria. after that, we will look at some of the people being talked about as potential successors to ben bernanke. then, dr. ronald waldman, president of doctors of the world usa talks about recent humanitarian efforts in turkey, jordan, and lebanon in response to the health impact of the syrian war. we will take your phone calls, >> i don'tnd tweets. want to see the loss of state and local journalism covering what is happening on the ground. a lot of the national journalism is not as good if you do not have the local journalism. a lot of what i do is watching, reading local and state stories, seeing what is happening at that level and seeing how it is bubbling up at the national level. if there are not people on the ground doing that work, because i think national journalism suffers quite a bit, i really way someone figures out a to keep that sustainable and keep the people in place. we will see a lot more social

media where people do not maybe s of news website outlets quite as much but they see stories shared by others and by what their friends are talking about, and the news goes that way rather than you go certain places for a website. >> from blogger to managing amandaat the post, terkel on what is shaping modern journalism. >> in our original series, " first ladies," we look at the public and private lives of the women who served as first lady. as we move into the modern era, we will feature the first first ladies in their own words. >> human rights will be one of the foundations on which we onld build in the world which piece could grow. >> i do not think the white

house could completely belong to one person. belongs to the people. they should preserve suggestions and enhance it. >> season two of first ladies live monday nights, including your calls, facebook comments, and tweets, starting september 9 at 9:00 eastern on c-span. monday night, we will conclude the encore presentation of season one. >> thousands of people gathered on the national mall today to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the march on washington and civil rights advocates joined members of government in a ceremony on the lincoln memorial. the same location where dr. martin luther king jr. delivered his "i have a dream speech." you will hear from the reverend jesse jackson, eric holder, the reverend al sharpton, among others as they pay tribute to

the events of the day. -- that day 50 years ago. >> for those of us from the south, 50 years ago we received our marching orders when dr. martin luther king jr. quoted the prophet isaiah, "i have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted and every hill should be made low and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the lord should be revealed and all flesh." this is our hope and this is the faith that we go back to the

south with and those are our marching orders and this is the faith that we go back to the south with. yes, the south. where some are still trying to fight the civil war. yes, the south where we are witnessing this vicious attack on voters, voting rights, and the blatant voting suppression of one particular political party. yes, the south where young teenaged african-american boys cannot walk the streets of his father's neighborhood without being profiled, confronted, stalked, and finally murdered.

watching over 45 days where the governor because of the relentless protests of people of sanford reluctantly appointed a reluctant prosecutor who reluctantly put together a prosecuting team who did a poor job in presenting their case. watching a murderer go free, watching our community and our country try to go back 50 years ago. we walk away with the fate and the words of the prophet, isaiah once again. the day that weighed upon the lord shall renew as shall a model with wings as shall run and not be weary as shall walk and not faint. joe madison. >> 50 years ago, 1963, there was not the congressional black caucus. 2013, we have a congressional black caucus and they are here. let me acknowledge them over to my right.

ladies and gentlemen, representatives of the 43 members of the congressional black caucus. [applause] 50 years ago -- 50 years ago, in washington, d.c., this commemoration and continuation, the citizens of the city did not have the right to vote in congress. 50 years later, we still do not have a right to vote and we are demanding and dr. king demanded that washington, d.c. should be the 51st state of the united states of america. statehood for 600,000 residents.

finally, let it go forth that this is not only a commemoration of continuation. but what you have here are two generations that have come together and there is a lot said about the joshua generation. the younger people. but i reminded them, it was the moses generation that pointed the way. we need both generations working side-by-side together and so let this be a day in which moses points the way for joshua, the walls of segregation, of racism, and materialism come tumbling down. with that, let me introduce our first speaker for this segment, the director of foreign policy friends committee, a national legislation, dr. michael shank. >> the day after martin luther

king died, robert kennedy spoke on violence. here is what he said, what has violence accomplished and created? we tolerate a rising level of violence that ignores our common humanity. we glorify killing on movie screens and call it entertainment. we make it easy for men to acquire at weapons. we honor the wielders of force. we excuse those willing to build their lives on the shattered dreams of other. there is another violence just as deadly. this is the violence of inaction. president kennedy was equally unequivocal. we need the kind of piece that makes life worth living. too many of us think it is impossible, but that is a

dangerous belief, said the president. dr. king called america the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today. he was right. and still is today. when profit motive and property rights are considered more important than people, he said, the giant triplets of militarism is incapable of being conquered. a true revolution of values will look and easily on the glaring contrast to party and well. a true revelation will say this way of settling differences is not just. american can lead the way in the revolution of values. no document can make these humans any less of our brothers. the true meaning of compassion and non-violence is when it helps us to see the enemy's point of view.

there is nothing to prevent us from re-ordering our priorities. the pursuit of peace will take precedence over the pursuit of war. let us practice what they -- >> ♪ [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the national black justice coalition. sharon hicks. >> one of my mentors told me in order to truly be free, you must give to causes greater than yourself. every day, i educate, allocate, and celebrate the contributions of the lot lesbian, gay, transgender community.

if any of my brothers and sisters are not free, none of us are free. today i looked up the contributions of a black gay man, he felt for the freedoms. he lived at the intersection of these identities fighting for the freedoms of all people. he was a radical and visionary, a black gay activist for freedom and justice during a time when the existence of both identities were perilous. he owned his power. he fiercely challenged the status quo and fought for those marginalized while refusing to be defined by any single aspect of his identity. he was as unapologetically black as he was gay and by his very presence he challenged the evils of homophobia and racism throughout his life. his legacy leaves -- [indiscernible] >> [crowd murmurs]

>> our next speaker, the president of habitat for humanity. >> what does the lord require of you but to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your god. these words from micah 6:8 stir my heart just as much today as they did when i first heard them from my grandmother. she would challenge me to be useful. my outspoken grandmother was a congresswoman from new jersey who came to politics through the civil rights movement and marched with leon sullivan. she considered the old testament instructions as marching orders to fight against injustice and for equality. at habitat for humanity, our vision is similar to that of dr. king. we break down barriers as we build up the walls.

we bring people together in an effort to create a world where everyone has a decent place to live. since 1976, habitat has helped more than 3 million people realize their dreams for a better future because no one should live in poverty housing. we will not let our hammers or our voices rest until the world believes safe, decent, affordable housing matters. the reality is if children do not live in decent homes, the odds of their staying healthy plummets, they will not do well in school. without an education, they cannot get jobs. they will not be able to provide for their families or break the stranglehold of poverty. we cannot abide that. >> ♪ >> the next speaker is the deputy u.s. program director for human rights watch.

maria sanchez marino. >> good morning. i did not grow up in the united states. one of the things that impressed me the most about this country was a simple fact that all around me in newspapers, college classrooms, on tv, and radio, there was an active dialogue, sometimes frustrating, but an active one, about our rights. in law school, we spent weeks talking about the 14th amendment to the constitution and the guaranteed equal protection. people talk about race, gender, sexual orientation. even more exciting, people empowered. they knew that if they spoke up, they could change things.

as a latina woman, i knew the opportunities open to meet where because of those who demanded a more just society. it is wonderful to be with you and honor those who marched 50 years ago in the name of equal rights for all. in my work, i see the u.s. still has a long way to go. the u.s. has the largest reported prison population in the world. people of color are far more likely to be arrested or imprisoned. too many migrants live in fear of being torn away from their families. that makes them easy prey for those that would abuse the rights. poverty has increased in recent decades. far too many of the poorest are

women and people of color. the list goes on. we also have reasons for hope. policy makers are starting to -- >> ♪ >> our next speaker, a young lady who has kept the faith, has dealt with voter suppression throughout this nation, the president and executive director of the national committee for civil rights. >> good morning, everyone. we are here today because there is a great spirit sweeping this land, demanding justice for all americans, a spirit that knows no boundaries based on race, color, or who you love.

a spirit that demands every human being be dignified. a spirit that says there is a right to be just in every aspect of our life. a spirit that says we must have the right to vote, that nothing is more important than that everyone has the right to vote. a spirit the demands the end to voter suppression in north carolina, texas, alabama,

florida, georgia, ohio. we must allow the people to vote. remember, if you remember nothing else -- >> ♪ >> he serves with his father in ministry and his biological father, the reverend jasper williams. he is the rev. joseph williams, pastor of the salem bible church of atlanta, georgia. >> why are you here? to commemorate or participate? commemorate means i am celebrating something that has already occurred. to participate means i am and actively involved in right now. are you here because you want to

be seen? do you desire to be a part of change? are you here to point fingers and blame or hold hands with your brother or your sister? 50 years ago, the works of our forefathers and mothers allowed us to see the realization of the first black president. our country still has a race issue all of us need to be a part of. why are you here? the change is not a black or white thing. it is not a yellow, gay, or straight thing. it is an american thing. for us to eliminate racism, we must obliterate the concept of race to understand there is only one race. that is the human race.

god bless. [applause] >> our next speaker is the president of george mason university, dr. angel cabrera. >> thousands of young men and women are denied a college education every year. they are shut out of the american dream, not because they are not smart enough, not because they are not talented enough. not because they are ready to work hard enough. but because their parents may

not be rich enough. because they may not be american enough. because they may not be documented enough. dr. king said injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. he said the time is always right to do what is right, and i say the time to break down the barriers of access to education is now. i say i would not be here if not for education. most of us would not be here if not for education. the american dream is not a destination. it is a struggle. it is a struggle that takes the work of all of us.

let us struggle together. let us dream together. [speaking spanish] gracias, god bless. >> ♪ >> our next speaker, the economist and director of columbia university earth institute. >> if the arc of the moral universe bends toward justice, it is because righteous souls in each generation pull at each end. 50 years ago at this spot, king spoke to righteous men and women who fulfill their role in

shaping the moral universe. they did their job bravely and well. we honor them today. the great task of moral construction is never finished. there is no final victory on earth. only an inheritance of justice each generation must renew and pass to the next. 1963 was a year of moral crisis and renewal. it was a year to rescue america's soul and move the world as john f. kennedy did with the nuclear test ban treaty. it was the year of martyrdom of that young president who told us that when one man is enslaved, all are not free.

2013 is another year of moral crisis. america is mired in income inequality and poverty. american eslaves multitudes of black and hispanic young men to feed the greed of its privatized penitentiaries. america sends drone missiles that kill innocent wedding-goers in a misguided war on islam. it is our turn to bend the arc of the moral universe. we must banish the money lenders, not from the temple but from congress and the white house. we must beat swords into plowshares joining with israelis and palestinians to honor the prophets of peace. we must end our assault on nature and harvest the sun and the wind instead. in our age of greed and glitter, the world of justice seems to be stilled. do not be deceived. the ancient cry still moves us today. justice, justice shall you pursue so you can live in the promised land. >> ♪ >> our next speaker is the president of youth build usa. >> good morning.

i am happy we are back calling with one voice for the creation of the beloved community that reverend king named as our goal. many of us have spent 50 years marching quietly toward that dream. i want to first of all the millions of unsung heroes of the grassroots who have given their lives and heart to help other people. let me name just one, leroy looper, my mentor, a great man who passed away in 2011 having done great good. but his complete dream was unfulfilled. reverend king's core message was about the power of love. we sang that if we had a hammer of love between our brothers and sisters all over this land. we have been hammering out that love. my colleagues have hammered out hundreds of safe oases for young

people who join hands building affordable housing for their neighbors while they complete their own high school education and take leadership in their communities. they are now the ones hammering out love between their brothers and sisters. their parents are proud. their younger siblings are awed and their children are thriving. they are the lucky few. millions are being locked out of society or locked up. many expect to be dead or in jail by the time they're 25. this is a national sin and 7 million, 16 to 24-year-olds out of school and out of work. they have talent, heart, soul, intelligence, and dreams. our nation needs them. imagine hundreds of thousands of them -- >> ♪ >> she must have been a baby when she started with pepsico. please welcome a senior vice president of global diversity

and inclusion officer. pamela culpepper. >> good morning. it is a privilege to join with you to celebrate his great milestone in american history. thank you, rev. al sharpton for your long commitment to improving opportunities for all disenfranchised people. we're proud to partner with you. our appreciation goes out to everyone who plays a role in fulfilling the mission of the national action network. martin luther king, iii, thank thank you for carrying the torch

lit by your parents to help. the world of economic and social injustice. i am proud to be among the pepsico associates who are here to reinforce the values of equality and fairness. i cannot introduce all of my colleagues. i would like to take a moment to recognize one. let me tell you about wesley dickerson. he was 7 years old when he watched dr. martin luther king delivered his "i have a dream" speech from on top of his father's shoulders. he remembers his father telling him and his sister that the march mattered because it was about equality for all. 50 years later, he is here with us today and has been instrumental in making sure the logistics work together for today's march. the principles of human dignity, civil equality, and economic

empowerment for all our core values of pepsico. almost 75 years ago, we were the first major company to integrate management and the first to elevate an african-american to vice-president. one year before the 1963 march on washington. we're dedicated to the ideals of this march and what it represents. i am proud to stand on behalf of all pepsico associates here today and on the shoulders of those who made it possible for me to stand before you. i am deeply honored and grateful for the opportunity. thank you. >> ♪ >> our next speaker is the grandson of mahatma gandhi. biographer, research prof. at the center for south asian and middle eastern studies, univ. of illinois, dr. gandhi. >> my grandfather never visited the united states, but his heart was fully involved in the struggle in this country. in february, 1936, after meeting four african-americans in western india, this is what he said. "if it comes true, it may be through the african americans that the adult trade of message of non-violence will be delivered to the world." in 1967, four years after the 1963 march, dr. king said this in new york city.

"every nation must develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole." dr. king added a warning against what he called the apathy of conformist thought. today as we underline america's enormous needs, dr. king's phrase of overriding loyalty to humankind also demands our attention. conformist thought stops us from time to assess. we must ask if we want democracy here but only dependable friends elsewhere. >> ♪

>> our next speaker, a social activist, civil rights leader, chairman emeritus of the naacp. i thought he forgot to give him his name. i met this man when i was just a sophomore in college. ladies and gentlemen, long before there was a barack obama, there was a julian bond nominated for vice president of the united states. he was a citizen of the u.s.a. and a proud citizen of georgia. ladies and gentlemen, julian

bond. [applause] >> thank you. i am delighted to be here just as i was delighted to be here 50 years ago. then we could not have imagined we would be here 50 years later with a black president and black attorney general. but that is a measure of how far we have come. still we march. we march because trayvon martin in the pantheon of young black murders. we march because the supreme court has eviscerated the voting rights act for which we fought and died. we march because every economic indicator shows the king of white-but disparities. we march for freedom from white supremacy. none of it was easy. we have never wished our way to freedom.

we have worked our way. we have much more to work with today. we take heart that so much has changed. the changes have everything to do with the work of the modern movement for civil rights. we must not forget dr. king stood before and with thousands, the people who made the mighty movement what it was. these ordinary men and women labored in obscurity. from montgomery forward, they provided the soldiers of the freedom army. they shared with king and abiding faith in america. they walked in dignity rather than ride in shame. they sat down at lunch counters others to stand up. they marched and organized. dr. king did not march from selma to montgomery by himself. there were thousands marching with him and before him. there were thousands more that did the dirty work that preceded the march. the successful strategies of the modern movement where litigation, organization, mobilization, and coalition.

all aimed at creating a national constituency for civil rights. sometimes it is the simplest of these, sitting at a lunch counter -- >> ♪ >> and other civil rights icon, president and founder of rainbow push coalition, the rev. jesse jackson, senior. >> today we appeal on the president and congress to have mercy on our plea. i was meant to be here 50 years ago. thank god for the journey, 50

years of tragedy and triumph. we marched as dr. king's dream in 1963. he felt the agony of a nightmare approaching in memphis. he celebrated the joy of our progress, the freedom from barbarism and the right to vote. we celebrate the joys of our political progress. the freedom of nelson mandela in south africa and the election of

president obama, the crown jewel of our work. unnecessary wars and drones attack the poor. using violence as remedies was unacceptable. he wanted to disturb the comfortable. he wanted justice for all those, education, and help for the infirmities. banks are bailed out. homeowners are locked up. insurance companies are bailed out. detroit is in bankruptcy. we're paying an awful price for the intervention in iraq. he said it leads to a moral and spiritual bankruptcy. when he was killed, the values and standards went up.

keep dreaming of the constitutional right to vote. keep dreaming about the war on poverty. choose schools over jails. keep dreaming of student loan forgiveness. keep dreaming. keep dreaming to restore foreclosed housing. keep dreaming of immigration reform that includes africa, haiti, and the caribbean. keep dreaming. we're free but not equal. keep dreaming. choose life over death. more graduations and less funerals. keep the faith. keep hope alive. the lord is our life. >> ♪

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we cannot turn back now or lose faith. dr. king said the ultimate measure of a man is not where he moments of comfort and

stands nce but where he in times of challenge and controversy. it is time for us to get uncomfortable. be inconvenienced. we are living in a time of great controversy. we cannot rest. e must not rest until our work is done. i'm here to remind you it is time to do something. stand for something. to say something. to march for something. forward, always go forward. civil rights is unfinished business and each one of us make it our business. thank you. up, to introduce our u.s. attorney general eric is a man of richmond, jones.a, mayor dwight

>> thank you, tom. i have the privilege of introducing one of the great of our nation. r. king died fighting for recycling technicians in memphis, tennessee. external believed in advocacy, fighting for the least and left out. because of that we have mayors, congressmen, we have governors. a senator and we even have the president of the united states of america. elected officials are rue to their way to getting elected to public office, they are busy today fighting for a field.laying and the man i have the to introduce today has been busy fighting for that

field.playing in the oice for change criminal justice system fighting sentences e drug unequally applied calling for the justice department to no seek mandatory minimum sentences. he's been a voice for voter when electrical -- local elected seek to disenfranchise. happen on myll not watch. he is been vocal on the stand ground saying vigilanteism acceptable and we should call 911. justice, rum major for a man who is standing on the truth of the law. country's lawyer. exampl 82nd attor general

of the united states of america, the first african-american to office.t join me in welcoming eric holder. >> thank you. thank you. >> thank you. here an honor for me to be today among so many friends, distinguished civil rights leaders, members of congress and fellow citizens who fought, the ed and organized from streets of this nation to the to advance capitol the cause of justice.

king shared his. dream with the world and society visions for a that offered and delivered the romise of equal justice under law. he assured his fellow citizens his goal was within reach as long as they kept faith with maintained the courage and commitment to work toward it. just that.em to do by calling for no more and no equal justice. by standing up for the civil is ts to which everyone entitled and by speaking out in violence in atred, defiance of those who sought to hoses, m back with fire bullets and bombs for the dignity of a promise kept in a right redeemed and woven of a sacred truth

through the nation as country that all are created equal. marched on washington in 1963 had taken a long and road.ult from montgomery to greensboro to selma and through tuscaloosa. hey marched in spaoeite of animosity, oppression and rutality because they believed in the greatness of what this country could become and of the founding promises not kept. ther focus at that time was sick red and unmet commitments system as it n applied to african-americanless. army americans. s we -- african-american americansment their march now is our match and our focus has broaden ed to include the cause asian n, latinos, americans, lesbianses, gays, of

and e with disabilities ountless others across this country who yearn for treatment.y, and fair dr. king's words helped alter the course of history and his foundation ed the for much of the progress that has followed. we recommitning, as ourselves to his quest for progress we must note in to dr. king we also stand on the shoulders of untold whose names may be lost to history but whose stories and contributions must be remembered and must be treasured. surely those who stood on the mall in the summer of 1963, but must also remember those who lunch ses, sat at counters and stood up to racist an governors and those who gave their lives.

we must remember generations who day-to-dayelves on a basis with great dignity in the abable injustice sacrificing their a.m. pweubgss o the opportunities of future generations would be assured. but for them i would not be general of the united states and barack obama would united resident of the states of america. we must remember those who abored for wages that measured neither their worth nor their effort. we must remember those who and fought and died wearing the uniform of a nation cared so much about but which did not reciprocate devotion in equal measure. brave men and women displayed a profound love must always be appreciated.

it is to these people we owe the greatest debt. americans of all races, genders, ethnicity, sexual orientation background who risked everything in order that their and their zen children might truly be free. say ino them we must all the most profound of ways thank you. them that i dedicate my words this morning and it is in pledge my that i continuing service in the hope that it might pay worthy tribute sacrifices. ut today's observance is about far more than reflecting on our past. this march is about committing shape the future that we will undoubtedly share. a future that preserves the and builds on the achievements that have led us to this moment. we look to the work that remains un finishfinished and me nation's shortcomings,

not because we wish to dwell on but because of those who came before us we love this great country. we want this nation to be all that it was designed to be and become. it can we recognize that we are forever that we one another and tand united by the work this lies ahead and the journey this stretches before us. that the ng we affirm struggle must and will go on in forcause our nation's quest justice. until every eligible american chance to exercise his or her right to vote discriminatory or unneeded procedures, rules or practices. criminalo on until the justice system can assure all re treated equally and fairly in the eyes of the law. and it must go on until every

reflects our values and that which is best about us. those who on until are now living and generations yet to be born can be assured rights and opportunities that have been too long denied to too many. the america envisioned at this the beloved ago community, has not yet been realized. ut half a century after the march and 150 years after mancipation it is finally within our grasp. ogether through determined effort, through a willingness to onfront corrosive forces tied to special interests rather than he common good and through devotion to our founding documents i know that in the 21st century we will see an that is more perfect and more fair. thank each of you for your continuing dedication to this

cause and your leadership of work.important i look forward to all that we ill surely achieve together by advancing the cause that remains our common pursuit, by preserve legacy we are called on to extend, and by helping to the dream that still guides our every step. very much.ll is my pleasure to introduce our next two incredible speakers. the national urban league and 59th mayor of new marc morial. nd the president of the national council of the largest national hispanic civil rights advocacy organization, janet

m merguia. >> hello, everyone. convey to you what an honor it is to stand on the teps on this glorious memorial right where many of our greatest leaders stood on one of the most important days in american history. privilege to be here with my good friend and leader marc more ideal. millions of latinos were 1963 ing in that day in when we heard dr. king proclaim "i have a dream" and we knew he too.talking to us, r. king a's dream feels an inclusive dream. it was a universal dream. belovedwhy he remains a icon in my community and across world. in fact, dr. king was one of the

supporters of another chavez.icon, cesar supporteight of cesar's n 1963 dr. king said our struggles are really one, a truggle for freedom, for dignity and for humanity. standingi know, we are here on the shoulder of these giants. we are here toow remember the hundreds of thousands of people whose names may never know, who sacrificed so much to be at this a half century ago. hose who had to ride buses all day and all night because they were not allowed to stop and rest. time and give their those who give their lives. remember who we are marching for today.

those who seek justice, who seek the right to vote, who seek to support their families. nd for those whose names we also do not know but who live in the shadows and in fear every of their lives because they are undocumented. who know young people no other country and who are way cans in every possible but whose status puts the reach.an dream out of as we march, it is so everyone nows that true justice must include enacting comprehensive immigration reform. it is time for our nation to recommit to lifting up the hopes and dreams of all of us. that in st remember unity there is power. move mountains and see this agenda master

forward. >> i stand here today on behalf of billions of urban leaguers on shoulders of my legendary predecessor whitney m. young who here in 1963 language with dr. martin luther king -- along king.dr. martin luther i stand here to reaffirm our commitment to the civil rights challengespportunity of then and now and the we must al notion that redeem the dream in order to realize the dream. we must redeem the dream because there are those that attack our our voting rights and access to equal economic opportunity. wear different clothes, they may use different slogans, may have different talking points. ut like those in 1963 they

and uster, they aobstruct hinder. 1st forces are at work to eliminate and reverse our conomic progress through an semiautomatic on our nation's poorest, weakest, most dispossessed and citizens. we must redeem the dream because our children should live in without senseless gun violence. access to n deserve quality education that will lead and brake poverty and our children should go to bed on a full stomach and wake up and attend a good school with great teachers. we must redeem the dream because full employment and economic for all are a term of value that transcend any century. the dream.eem we will redeem the dream so that his generation of americans from all walks of life are

silenced, not committed and not come phraepla stand our ground against those forces that seek to reverse the clock. are those who wish to pass stand your ground hrpblg legislation. we will stand our ground against person, policy, procedure, movement that threatens our ivil rights, our voting rights and economic opportunity. commemoration 50 years ago is started.y commitment is what we pledge. we are tion is where going. this is the 21st century agenda freedom.and this is the new civil rights movement. you very much.

>> i'm instructed to tell the doing the sign language to move two steps to right. sorry, ma'am. i'm told. what democraticeak er, the knowled nominee and next senator of new , cory mayor of newark booker. democratic whip congress.r, 113th everybody.ternoon, i know i stand amongst many heroes today. that actually were here 50 years ago. to speak to low me those like myself who were not for the march on

washington. up ather, when i was greg said very simply when i used to home he would say to me by, don't you dare a k around here like you hit triple. because you were born on third base. enjoying freedom, opportunity, technology, things fought bygiven to you the struggles and the sacrifices those who came before and don't you forget where you have come from. you drank deeply from wells of and om and liberty opportunity that you did tphnot dig. you ate lavishly from tables ancestors.y your we and my generation cannot now consuming allback of our blessings thinking that achieved freedom.

the truth of the matter is that still demands that the oral conscience of our country still calls us, that hope still needs heroes. understand that there is still work to do. hen the leading cause of death for black men my age and younger is gun violence we still have to do. when we still have a justice treats the economically disadvantaged and minorities different than others have work to do. america work a full-time job plus overtime and stifling line the of poverty, we still have work to do. when we see wages stagnating, when child poverty is the rich are en getting richer and the poor are millions ofer, when our children are living in

neighborhoods where their soil and rivers are polluted and their air quality is so poor is epidemic, we still have work to do. my generation, we can't democracy w thinking is a spectator sport when all we our tv screens and cheer for our side. democracy demands action. we can't sit back and be caught of sedentary annual station where we get so upset but don't get up and do something about t. we cannot allow ourselves to let inability to do everything undermine our determination to do something. so, now i call upon my generation to understand that we pay back the struggles and sacrifices of the generation before, but it is our moral

obligation to pay it forward. away must stand -- we stood, likeike king thousands of others stood, like goodwin and chaney riders stood, we must stand now until we live in it doesn't matter who you love but we don't have ship for gay citizen nd lesbian brothers and sisters. we must stand until a woman the same job as a man gets the same pay. for our country where 20% of our children are chains of d by the poverty. we must stand today. generation.d in my we must stand for kwlequality. for justice.

e must stand like tohose who stood before us. because away still live in a ountry where everything is possibility. but as king said change will not oll in on the wheels of inevitability. so we must straighten our backs nd join together until our nation is one where the call of he con shpbs of children coast -- conscience of children where they say the profound pledge and in our land, rue that america is a country truly his children, her children, that we are truly a ation with liberty and justice for all. thank you very much. booker. you, cory cory, i was a member of the generation that was alive. and on behalf of that generation we welcome your energy and efforte and focus to the that has not yet been done.

0 tpaoeryears ago martin lutheg put in mighty words the hopes, dreams, frustrations of millions black and white that the people of this land fully free and none could enjoy the promise of could enjoy il all it. we all know his famous words, dream he shared, his speech was a resonating call to action. compelled me and millions to channel our own commitment for civil rights into of activism for justice and equality. what calls us here once more was the pronouncement that and he said 1963 beginning.end but a that is what cory booker was

talking about. be ica today has much to roud of, in no small part thanks to dr. king and my friend john lewis and countless others wrote, spoke out, stood up, in hed, bled, languished jail, sat in and endured what dr. king called creative suffering. the historic election of to thent obama testifies progress we have made which would not have been possible if who or the millions sacrificed and raised their voices for change. all of us here to declare that we shall not rest shall we be satisfied by the way things now stand. are still in e poverty and inequality. too many despair at to find good jobs that pay well and provide their

families with a chance to reach middle class. too many have no voice in democracy because they are told valid i.d. with which to vote or they have to choose between going to work or to the polls today. we will not rest. that is our pledge today. 1963. our pledge in and a half century later we r gnaw pledge.-- renew that let us march on. new that pledge. let us march on. god bless you. up the first female speaker of the united states house of representatives, leader and i sure would -madam caller plaid lad -madam speaker y pelosi. again, nancy pelosi. madam spea again, nancy pelosi.madam speak again, nancy pelosi.

>> i guess it is still morning. everyone.ng, leadership of the the congress of the united states it is my official welcome so many of you to washington, d.c. to the the lincoln memorial. and n my colleagues associate myself with the remarks of those from congress me.have spoken before that is officially. very ally, it is my personal pleasure to be here with each and everyone of you i was here 50 years ago. who among you is going to be the speaker of the house, the united states, or whatever? ou are a beautiful sight to behold. and at that time 50 years ago we us with king inspire the "i have a dream" part of his

was the he part that all to action was the fierce urgency of now part of his speech. said we ime dr. king refuse to take the tranquillity gradualism. we must move forward. will.rward we then its urgent to them certainly is now. 50 years ago there were only five african-american members of the house of representatives. blackwas no congressional caucus. today there are 43 members. we want more but there are 43 african-american members and congress ed by congressman marcia fudge who you eard from and they are the conscience of the congress. in that black caucus we have the serving with john

lewis, some of us over 25 years in congress. proud of that! i also want to mention that 350 ears ago, though he was not a member of congress at the time, that john conyers was one of invited to the white house to meet with kennedy john f. following the civil rights march, the march for jobs, freedom, who is with us. 50 years ago we had the first white c president in the house. today we have the first african-american president and first african-american first leading our td country so beautifully from the white house. we come together here at a time hen there is a monument to reverend martin luther king on the mall. of he sits with presidents the united states, so appropriately. set aside as the

national holiday to celebrate birthday. but he would want us to birth and his his agen by acting upon his agenda, by realizing the dream, y making the minimum wage a living wage. y having not just family and medical left but paid sick leave for our workers. equality affordable child care so that our families -- the power of women can be unleashed in our economy and society. you know what? this just happens to be women's weekend. when women succeed, america succeeds. color succeed, america succeeds. e would also want us to be fighting for voting rights. ertainly away must pass a bill in the conditionigress to corre

the supreme court did. personust be sure every that is eligible to vote can vote. -- i was here 50 years ago and that includes voting rights for the district of columbia. when i was here 50 years ago people said what do you remember most. the music is playing so i will say this. this.ing said 50 years ago, the music of the the civil harmony of rights movement must continue up to inspire us to compose and king said on that august symphony a beautiful of betterhood. are you ready to beat the drums symphony of tiful brother hhood

brotherhood? are you ready it realize the dream? all very much. evers women's is reverend durrett of sharpton, please welcome dominique sharpton. >> our next speaker has devoted struggle for e civil rights. her husband 963, -- medger evers was assassina assassinated while she was snide. a courageous pillar in the battle for equal rights

fighter for the right to vote. his death was one of the most events that motivated hundreds of thousands to march 50 years ago.lace his ven 24 hours after waiife turned a tragedy into a movement. added to her belief insure her husband's wife would not live in vain. the first lay person and woman to deliver the invocation presidential inauguration. he has been a traveller in the pursuit of justice and equality a fearless courageous william to her family inspired us to stand firm in our dignity, beauty and

grace to encourage young women color this we can have a place at this table as the next for there s leaders movement to progress this nation. he was one of the two women confirmed to speak at the march 50 but because of travel mishaps she didn't make it. on the same ns us set of the lincoln memorial. mrs. marley e evers-williams. >> thank you, what an honor it be here today joining all as webrothers and sisters reevaluate what we have done in

last 50 years. unfortunately for me, i was make the first march on washington and i never really that until president please lead us in the in january of this year. thank you, reverend sharpton and othe others, for asking me to spend a words to this most precious gathering. crowd, i out at the we myself saying, what are doing today? away come from? what has been accomplished? and where do we go from this forward? come from? what has been accomplished? and where do we go from this point forwar come from? what has been accomplished? and where do we go from this

point forward? come from? what has been accomplished? and where do we go from this point forward? come from? what has been accomplished? and where do we go from this w come from?d? what has been accomplished? and where do we go from this point forward?e come from? what has been accomplished? and where do we go from this point forward? i think of one theme that has played over and over in the past few months and it is one brings great controversy. stand your ground. standing think of your ground in the negative. to flip that today make "stand your ring for all tive of us who believe in freedom and equality, that we stand firm on the ground that we already made and be sure from othing is taken away us. because there are efforts to clock of freedom. today, will you happen?hat to

>> no! "stand your ords sense. in a positive stand your ground in terms of and ing for justice equality. we have had wonderful speakers even more who e will outline those things to you. negative and make a positive out of it. today.where we are assess where we've come from. go.ess where we can justice,our ground for equality.m, for i stand here today and i ask the question question, ain't i a woman? are the women that need to movementledged in this

for freedom and justice? we must not forget them. we must not forget coretta scott king. forget betty shabazz. we must not forget all the other fought in the sweat and the tears to move us further. so, if you do nothing else, if you take nothing else from my what i have said, tand your ground for freedom and justice and do whatever is necessary necessary, that is legal, to move this accountant forward. because -- country forward. because we are on "stand still" today. still that looks toward the back and we must not have that. trees in a s as .orest of people

trees with a network of roots far and that reach de deep. of a tree comes from its roots. people here today born, who were not even thought of being born, but movement mbraced the of justice and equality for all. them.by good them. i say to of my jigs you sometimes it is necessary to aside just a little bit, reach out a hand and bring up young leaders that we ha have. ecause we need them in america today. this is our country. the trees standing tall for justice.

that the deeper we society, roots in this the less afraid we are to say to who represent us, you do hold ent us and we will you accountable for all of the the trees use we are and we have the roots through turn rength and power to things around. that become so depressed we think we can't make it. dr. king and so to show us helped the way and give us the strength to move forward. thankful to oday and see all f age takenose changes that have place and realize that there

soe people lake dr. king and many others and, yes, medger a life and lives for justice and equality. that history.get let us move forward. going to move off the stage because i hear the music being played. for your time and i thank you for your attention, and i'm thankful to here with you today. > our next speaker congressman john lewis. now, band. no wrap-up music for john lewis. john lewis stood ight here and did his speech

which he rewrote and rewrote two or three times because they said his speech was too much fire for washington. but here to do that speech -- that you going to do speech? do it. risked his life. member of congress from georgia. lease welcome congressman john lewis. 50 years ago, i spot 23ght here in this ears old, had all of my hair

and a tpafew pounds lighter. o i have come back here again o say that those days for the most part are gone. fight.have another we must stand up and fight the march today. we because there are forces and back. who will take us we cannot go back. we have come too far. forward.to go 1963, hundreds and thousands and millions of our sisters couldn't register to vote. when i stood here 50 years ago i one man, one vote is the inican-american pride and it must be hours. and i said some people tell us to wait, tell us to be patient.

i said 50 years later we cannot wait, we cannot be patient. and we want our freedom now. of us, it doesn't matter whether we're black or white, latino, asian american, straight gay, we are one people and one family and we are one house same all live in the house. my brothers and sisters, we cannot give up. give out. we cannot give in. must get out there and push and pull. i, a few short years ago, almost 0 years ago i gave a hrelittle blood on that bridge in selma, alabama for the right to vote.

stand by and to let the supreme court take the right to vote away from us. cannot stand by, you cannot sit down. up, speak up, nd speak out, and get in the way. make some noise. the vote is precious. it is almost sacred. it is the most powerful we have in a l democratic society and we have to use it. hadn't heard of the internet. we didn't have a cellular ipad, ipod. but we used what we had to bring revolution.iolent and all the young people you

push and ut there and pull and make america what all of us.uld be for congress, fix the the voting rights act. to the congress pass comprehensive immigration reform. make sense that millions of our people are in the shadows. bring them out in the light and them on a path of citizenship. faith.n there, keep your got arrested 40 times in the 1960's, beaten and left bloody and unconscious. tired, i'm not weary, i'm not prepared to sit down and give up. to continue to fight and you must fight. thank you very much.

>> next up >> ladies and gentlemen, it is honor to introduce the president of the american and the n of teachers president of 1.6 member strong a saunders. 1.5 o, i'm the president of federation of teachers a union that supported 50. march ut first i'm very happy to introduce an important student activist. it.ill hold

28, 1963, dr. martin jr. and thousands marched on washington for jobs and freedom. ongressman john lewis was the speaker and now 50 years later speaker.oungest and i am marching for education, freedom.and all over the country public education is under attack. closing and s are latino american communities. school go we've 350 closings. all public in charter nd increase in school budgets and new charter

school openings. deserves a great education. very school deserves equal funding and resources. you to keep ll of dr. martin luther king jr.'s dream alive. help us fight for freedom, jobs, public ty, education, because i have a shall overcome. >> that is our future! fightingis what we are for. nd that is what we fought for 50 years ago and that's what we are fighting for now. king's or atiation 50 years ago create a better world although we do not yet have the of.ld that dr. king dreamed

this must not be a commemoration. continuation of -- righteous day to and at the ting workplace and communities. yes rb much remains to be done. it has been decades since the turned water ice cannons and police dogs on peaceful protesters. it has only been months since the u.s. supreme court rights.back voting and every day, in fact every 30 is a victim of gun violence. signs may be y gone but there are still signs of injustice around us. children born poor today are likely to stay poor. schools where kids need so much are given the

least. against race tion nd sexual orientation may no longer be legal but it is still lethal. and n luther king jr. understood the intersection between racial justice.and economic the civil rights struggle is a and gle for good jobs decent wages. solution not the only they got the educational pportunity is the highway to economic opportunity, which is reclaim the promise of public education. say this. let me students,ere today as my friend lee saunders and another gayears ago erson had to be in the shadows

but today i speak as a teacher, activist and bor gay person deeply committed to my faith. we must be, not only a country that believes in actsity but a country that on that belief. so, let's take a lesson from people of faith in a national day of prayer it child poverty and use sit-ins to oppose stand your laws.d let's have freedom ring for the message of equality to states immigrants and same-sex couples as anything less than equal. of us not simply educators or parents or kids, nonvacaiolent protests in it invest int fail public education and turn their schools.truggling we cannot let generations of students down.

that is why we march. why we march. that is why we march. let's give asean another round of applause. future, isn't he? afscme members were part of the historic march on justice.n for jobs and juanita steele was one of them. juanita is 81 years old and ister steele a former day care teacher from new york city is here today participating in this march for justice and freedom and jobs. years ago sister steele prayed that the march would minds.hearts and she listened as dr. king spoke fierce urgency of now, change.lwinds of

the phu till tansey. in 1968 she mourned when dr. king feels killed in memphis where he had gone to support the was a anitation works of me local 1733. decades have passed. have changed. the new militancy of 1963 america and inspired the world. the promise of democracy has not been made real for all of us. promise is not real for people who work hard and play by , who les every day struggle to pay bills. the promise is not real for es who worked hard but ondition how they will make it day to day. the promise is not real for graduate under so much debt they wonder if they will ever climb out of it.

promise is not real for all of us if it is not real for all of us. it is not real for any of us. ourwe are here to replenish spirit, resister our favorite and - restore our favorite renew our activism. we march for a nation where decent pay, good rights and benefits on a job that no one can steal. we march for a nation where the golden years of in peace, are spent not poverty. today we march for a nation no matter hildren what they look like, where they live or what they which are can our streets in freedom and not in fear. for a nation ch where we can cast our votes and democracy in our without jumping through hoops or over hurdles. march for a nation where aspiring senators are respected

dads and sons and daughters and friends and neighbors who contribute it america. just mask for this nation -- we cannot just march this nation. we have to build it. don't let this moment pass. moment count. don't just commemorate. agitate. memorialize, take this spirit back to your communities, your neighborhoods, your schools. take this spirit back and keep alive. take this spirit back and let us together. voices let us demand justice together. fairness together. and together let us restore the dream.an

one of the most significant in the history of humankind's struggle for its own identity took place. it was a day that hundreds of thousands of people of all persuasions gathered to hear the words of the old negro spiritual declaring the dream of the young martin luther king, jr. 50 years later, the son of that king has called us all together once again to gather at the feet of the great emancipator just

wonder from the granite figure of his father and one of our founding fathers. he has called us together not just to celebrate nor merely to commemorate. he has called us to fortify and innoculate our human spirit to galvanize and energize our collective consciences to take action to realize the dream. he has been an elected leader, the president of a southern christian leader conference, the head of the martin luther king jr. center for nonviolent social change, the founder of realizing the dream. he is a national civil rights champion, a global human rights crusader. he is the father of yolanda renee, the husband of andrea waters, the big brother of dexter and berniece, the younger brother of the late yolanda deniece.

born of coretta scott king and the namesake of dr. martin luther king, jr., ladies and gentlemen, martin luther king iii. [applause] ♪ >> five decades ago, my father dr. martin luther king, jr., stood upon this hallowed spot. and the spirit of god spoke through him and summoned the nation to repent and to redress the shameful sins long visited upon its african american brothers and sisters.

you50 years ago, he delivered a sermon on this mountain which crystalized like never before the painful pilgrimmage and aspirations of african americans yearning to breathe free in our own homeland. with martin luther king's lamenting were not an aspiring diatribe of true conditions of the day. no, indeed, his words are etched in eternity and echo through the ages to us today were a tribute to the tenacity of an intrepid people who though oppressed refused to remain in bondage. those words of martin luther king, jr., were a clarion call to all people of good will to rise up together, to make this

nation live out the true meaning of its creed and to perfect within us a more perfect union. and so i stand here today in this sacred place in my father's footsteps. i am humbled by the heavy hand of history. but more than that, i am -- i, like you, continue to feel his presence. i, like you, continue to hear his voice crying out in the wilderness. the admonition is clear. this is not the time for nostalgic commemoration nor is this the time for self-congratulatory celebration. the time is not done. the journey is not complete.and we can and we must do more. the vision preached by my father a half century ago was that his four little children would one day live in a nation where

they would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. however, sadly the tears of trayvon martin's mother and father remind us that far too frequently the color of one's skill remains a license to profile, to arrest, and to even murder with no regard for the content of one's character. regressive stand your ground laws must be repealed. federal anti-profiling legislation must be enacted. comprehensive immigration reform must be adopted to end the harassment of our brown brothers and sisters and to provide a path to citizenship to them today just as was done for the millions who passed through ellis island's splendid gates yesterday. 50 years ago, my father and

sister said we cannot rest and be satisfied as long as black folk in mississippi could not vote. and those in new york believed that they had nothing for which to vote. today the united states supreme court, having recently eviscerating the voting rights act and with numerous states clamoring to legislatively codify voting suppression measures, not only must we not be satisfied but we must fight back boldly. too many of our unknown heroes and sheroes fought, bled and died for us to have the precious rights of vote. for us to now sit back and timidly allow our franchise to be taken away or diminished, we must not rest until the congress of the united states restores the voting rights act protections discarded by a supreme court blind to the blatant tests of the black folks.

paramount to martin luther king jr.'s fervent dream was the commitment that african americans gain full economic opportunity and not be confined to basic mobility forward from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. today, with 12% unemployment rates in the african american community and 38% of all children of color in this country living below the level of poverty, we know that the dream is far from being realized. with the once mighty city of detroit in the throws of bankruptcy and countless other cities teetering on the brink, there is a fierce urgency to act now. if the big auto makers and major financial institutions were too big and too important to fail, why is not the same true of the major urban centers which are populated by millions of poor blacks and brown and white hungering for nothing more than

a decent job to provide for themselves and their families? why shouldn't historically black colleges and universities desperate for stability be given the assistance which will enable them to continue their noble mission of educating both the best, brightest, as well as the least of these. as we struggle to recover from the worst economic calamity since the great depression, america needs a new marshall plan for our city to provide jobs, infrastructure improvements, and a true lasting stimulus to the economy. while we are inspired today by the majesty of power of my father's extra dation of yesterday year we must be mindful of this imperative of love. he sought the beloved community where we could live together with peace and equality. we must embrace that love and cease the violence.

no more senseless newtown or columbines, no more daily killings of our young people by our young people on the streets of chicago and countless neighborhoods across the country. we need more gun control but we also need more love. yes, we all need love for each other, black, white, and yellow, red and brown, gay and straight, christians muslims and jews. and all of god's children loving one another. we must embrace love and hold on to that powerful spiritual which inspired my father's generation and inspires us still today. we aren't going to let nobody turn us around. we aren't going to let nobody turn us around. we are going to keep walking. we're going to keep on talking. we're going to keep on voting.

we're going to keep on job building. we're going to keep on educating. we're going to keep on mentoring. we're going to keep on community building. we're going to keep on ending violence. we're going to keep on creating peace. we aren't going to let nobody turn us around. we are going to keep marching down to freedom land. so when i stand in your presence today and reflect on the fact that my beloved sister yolanda deniece did not live to see the full realization of the heartfelt dream held by our father for his four children, i am sad but not entirely sad for i am reminded that he knew that the arc of the moral universe is long but it does stand toward justice. so another yolanda, our daughter, you saw her come out here with me, our daughter has been sent by god into this world and the dream will live on through

her. thus i know that daddy is smiling up above knowing that your presence here today will assure the fulfillment of his dream in the lifetime of yolanda renee king. i can almost hear my father humming that anthem of the movement, people get ready there's a train coming. people get ready, there's a train coming. a train that takes us to a land where we have decent houses and not false house, a land that has schools that teach our children and do not defeat our children, a land where we have enterprising entrepreneurs and not incarcerated inmates, a land where we have fathers who create stable families and do not merely procreate innocent babies. yes, the train to the freedom land 50 years ago martin luther king jr. boldly ignited a mighty torch to guide our freedom led

to us to our freedom train land here, and we are today standing in the midst of that eternal flame. if we could all but catch a flicker from that ferocious flame of freedom we could each light a small candle of courage and in our own voice cry out, this little light of mine. i'm going to let it shine. if we each let our own little light shine, then we shall truly overcome. yes, if we each do our own small part in our home, in our churches, in our schools, on our jobs, in our organizations, in every aspect of our lives to advance the cause of freedom, then surely a change is going to come and take it from me some day we will all be free. and on that triumphant day we will offer up our praise to the god of our weary years, the god

of our silenced tears who has brought us thus far on the way who has led us into our light. and together we as the people, we as a nation, and indeed we as the world will proclaim in unison mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the lord. glory, glory halleluja glory, glory halleluja glory, glory halleluja his truth is marching on. [applause]you. ♪ >> next, distinguished and international speaker and chairman of the board of the national action network, reverend

dr. franklin richardson. [applause] >> good afternoon. it is my privilege to bring greetings on behalf of the board of directors of the national action network, more than 72 chapters in 60 cities across america. on behalf of the staff and the many members of the national action network i greet you today as chairman. and to celebrate this high moment we have come here today to culminate a long journey that began 200 years ago, the moment an african american enslaved african rejected slavery. 50 years ago we came to a high moment and in the past 50 years we've had tremendous achievement, we've had tremendous accomplishments. and it is that achievement that makes us believers in the

future. in every generation we have had great voices and great leaders. today it is my privilege to present our keynote speaker, the one who has become the voice of this era. for the last 40 years the reverend al sharpton has been evolving as a great and stirring leader shaped by these times to lead us into this era. he has sacrificed his life, his body, he has taken attacks, he has been mistreated, misunderstood, but thanks be to god he has been persistent. he has never given up. he has always been a voice for the voiceless. he is always aligned with the marginal liesed, he has always represented the hurting and he has always been a voice for justice. he is our leader, the president

of the national action network. it is my privilege then to present for the keynote moment the reverend al sharpton president of the national action network. [applause] ♪ ♪ >> thank you. 50 years ago, they did not take a bus outing to come to washington. there will be those that will miscast this as some great social event. but let us remember 50 years ago some came to washington having

rode the back of buses. some came to washington that couldn't stop and buy a cup of coffee until they got across the mason dixon line. some came to washington sleeping in their cars because they couldn't rent a motel room. some came to washington never having had the privilege to vote. some came having seen their friends shed blood. but they came to washington so we could come today in a different time and a different place and we owe them for what we have today. i met a man not long ago, i tell it often, he says i'm african

american but i don't understand all this civil rights marching you're talking about, reverend al. i've accomplished, i've achieved. look at my resume. i went to the best schools. i'm a member of the right clubs. i had the right people read my resume. civil rights didn't write my resume. i looked at his resume. i said, you're right. civil rights didn't write your resume. but civil rights made somebody read your resume. don't act like whatever you achieve you achieved because you were that smart. you got there because some unleaded grandma who never saw the inside of a college campus put

their bodies on the line in alabama and mississippi and sponsored you up here. today we face continuing challenges. what do we want? we want the congress to rewrite a voting rights act and we want to protect our right to vote. they are changing laws all over this country that congress needs to make federal law that will get through this congress and deal with what the supreme court has done. right now in texas and north carolina and other places they're coming with all these voter id.

well, we always had id. why do we need new id now? we had id when we voted for johnson. we had id when we voted for nixon. we had id when we voted for those that succeeded him, carter, reagan, bush, clinton, bush again. why when we get to obama do we need some special id? but i'll tell you what we're going to do. when we leave washington, we're going to go to those states. we're on our way to north carolina. we're on our way to texas. we're on our way to florida. and when they ask us for our voter id, take out a photo of met

gar evers, take out a photo of good man, cheney and swanger, take out a photo of viola luisa. they gave their lives so we could vote. look at this photo. it gives you the idea of who we are. second, we need jobs. we didn't come here just to talk. we want voter legislation, we need jobs. and if we can't get jobs, we need to continue these marches. and if we get tired we need to sit down in the offices of some of those here that don't understand folks want to work and earn for their families. 50 years ago dr. king said that

america gave blacks a check that bounced in the bank of justice and was returned marked insufficient funds. well, we've redeposited the check. but guess what. it bounced again. but when we look at the reason this time, it was marked stop payment. they have the money to bail out banks. they had the money to bail out major corporations. they had the money to give tax benefits to the rich. they have the money for the 1%. but when it comes to head start, when it comes to municipal workers, when it comes to teachers they stopped the check. we're going to make you make the check good or we're going to close down the bank.

let me say that, three, we need to deal with building what must be built around gun violence. we cannot sit around and watch the proliferation of guns in our communities and in any community. we've got to fight against this recklessness that make us so

insensitive that we shoot each other for no reason. let me say that our young brothers and sisters, many that were on the program, we owe a debt to those that thought enough of you to put their lives on the line. we owe a debt to those that believed in us when we did not believe in ourselves. and we need to conduct ourselves in a way that respects that. don't you ever think that men like med gar evers died to give you the right to be a hoodlum or to give you the right to be a thug. that is not what they gave their life about. we need to talk about how we address one another. how we respect one another. we need to teach our young folk

i don't care how much money they give you, don't disrespect your women. no matter what they promise you, make it clear that you know that rosa parks wasn't no ho and fannie lou wasn't no bitch. we've got some house cleaning to do. and as we clean up our house, we will then be able to clean up america. let me say as we fight for voter rights, as we fight for jobs, as we fight for immigration, as we fight for equality, let us not try and limit the coalition.

we need all of us together. these bogus arguments about, well, they didn't suffer like us or they are not as bad as us, the most insane thing for sick people to do is to lay in the hospital debating about who is the sickest. we all need to unite and get well together. we should not be comparing pain. we ought to be strategizing and coalescing for all of us to have equal justice under the law and equal opportunity. you know, i want to raise this and then we're going to do something i think special and we march. i keep hearing people talking about dr. king's dream.

when i was younger, i said to my mother, my friends say why are we dreaming? you need to be awake to fight. well, my mother said to me, you've got to understand what dreams are for. dreams are for those that won't accept reality as it is. so they dream of what is not there and make it possible. they will romanticize dr. king's speech. but the genius of his speech was not just the poetry of his words. the genius of his speech is what blood shed in birmingham, with medgar evers having been kill, where one of his coleaders in jail. he didn't stand here and discuss

the pain. he didn't stand here and express the anger. he spat in the face of those who wanted him dead that, no matter what you do, i can dream above what you do. i see a nation that will make change if we pay the price. others saw voting booths we couldn't. but king saw the possibility of an obama 50 years ago. the world is made of dreamers that change reality because of their dreams. and what we must do is we must give our young people dreams again. that's what lee saunders and randi winegarden was talking about. you take the funds, you take the expertise, and you tell the children they're nothing and you

tell them they're not expected to be nothing, you build jails and close schools, and you break their dreams and you wonder why they're walking around with their pants down. because that's what you wear in jail. and if you think that's where you're headed you might as well get dressed before you get there. we need to give them dreams again. not to worry about baggy pants but baggy mentality if we told them who they could be and what they could do they would pull up their pants and go to work. we've got to change how we deal with this. so we come to say that we are leaving here as they did 50 years ago and we're going to do

nonviolently what is necessary to put the climate in this country that will lead to a voting rights act, we're going to do what is innecessary to do what we have to do nonviolently to have a jobs bill based on the infrastructure, we're going to register voters in each state we're doing town hall meetings in the next 06 days we're going to target numbers and target districts. we need to bring new voters to the polls based on the principles and objectives of the movement. most importantly, i stand before

we are going to register voters in each state in the next 60 days. we will target numbers and target distance. we need to bring new voters to people's based on the principle of an object of of the movement. i do not know much about cooking. but i did learn how to make pancakes. my mama taught me that all you have to do is put down the stuff and hit it over. i do not know that much about politics, but i know how to do something. we need to slip the folks in congress next year. [applause] as we march today, we marched with a determination to let you know that we do not have amnesia. we did not worth the price that was paid. we -- we did weforget -- did not forget the price that was paid. our votes were gotten in the blood of martyrs. we earned the right to vote with protests and we will retain what we lost in the supreme court with a protest that is on its way. there was another dreamer as i close. a dreamer in the bible called john.

john looked up and said, i see a new heaven. i see a new earth. all things are passed away. i come to tell you, i know why they are screeching and hollering and talking crazy. because all of america has passed away. all america that only worked for white males has passed away. all ameritech -- america that only worked for english-speaking has passed away. all things have passed away. we see a new america. we are seeing an america of equality, justice, fairness. we march because we are going to bring a new america, one nation,

under god, indivisible with liberty and justice, not for who you choose, not for who you like, but for all. we believe in a new america. it is time to march for a new america. it is time to organize for a new america. it is time to register and vote for a new america. we are on our way. we are on our way. we are on our way. himeers and applause] as we prepared to march, ,prepare -- prepare to march, i want some of our leaders to stand with me. we want to honor and dedicate what we are doing to a man that

made the long road and a long journey. reverend richardson, kevin powell, all of these young leaders. i want us to show respect and regard for a man who has, every day in the last decade, fought for us. we are not ending the program without thanking those who made a way. the bible says honor thy father and mother, not for their day,

but for your day will be long on the land which god giveth thee. rev. joseph lowery stood in the heat of the day. reverend joseph lowery has paid the price. because of people like him, are here today. another warrior who was abused and took it so we could vote is here with us today. never got recognition, but now he is the winner of the medal of freedom from the first african- american president in the united states. he will come and have words and present the southern leadership southern christian leadership

conference. that is the organization that dr. king founded. that was the organization that did direct action. i grew up in the new york branch of the sclc. i grew up in a single-parent home on welfare. rev. jesse jackson told me i was somebody. i believed him. no man ever told me i was nobody. if no one ever gives you credit, i will because you help -- helped turn my consciousness -- my concept around. about myself. let's hear from the legendary -- ct vivian.

did i forget anybody? >> thank you, my brother. >> i do not want to leave out -- >> hello, good people. we are here again. after a half century, we are here again. let's think about what it was we really came to do. this 50th anniversary was to remind us of the time when we did not have too many leaders as we have today. but more than that, to remind us of what we did in the past, but only for a minute. we have to really think, what

are we going to do when we go home? what are we going to organize around? what problems are we going to solve? what are we going to do? we have to solve the problems of our immediate future. in a short time, we changed the most powerful nation in the world. we made it speak to us when it did not want to speak to us. we made it lifted its head and pay attention to black america when the day was gone in their minds, when they would not have to think about it. but the most powerful nation in the world had to listen to us and it is giving a way for our future as we pass -- as they pass off of the scene. it became the greatest trauma of our time.

we won. our message worked. we gave faith to oppressed people all over the world. the greatest spiritual leadership in america has been by african americans and it can be again if we choose to do it. if we do not choose to do it, we will not be. but if we choose to do it, we can create the future not only for ourselves, but for america itself. our movement and struggles in the streets, in the courts, in the churches was more than a political struggle. it was a moral and spiritual struggle against hate and violence and racial and cultural -- hypocrisy. we see it coming back around the corner when we think of -- it was a moral and spiritual struggle against hate and violence and racial and cultural hypocrisy. we see it coming back around the corner when we think of florida. the long term problems we delayed for later, right now we

have to -- the long-term problems will wait for later. right now, we have to deal with the immediate problems so that we have been a victory to deal with the long-term problems. we cannot be a people allowing 45% of our young people to drop out of school before they graduate from high school in a world where it is taken for granted that you have to have a college degree in order to do anything. we can solve that problem if we choose. we can do it on a daily basis and for the next year. if we cannot see a striving, forceful nation of people -- how did w. e. b. dubois was called it?

-- call it? we can be the future.we are a small nation of people within. we can organize it. those whoooking at create the future, we can be the future. this is what we have really been working for during the last 50 years. we must organize to win, organize every segment of life. all were fraternities and sororities are already-- our fraternities andsororities are already organized, already educated. those who have educated, those who have dropped out, less than let them organize just as we do when we listen to al sharpton talk about politics. he has been at it for a long time. we listen to it on tv because we know he has the knowledge we need.

when we think of that, let's think of those who have the knowledge and plan to educate every drop of who wants to lift themselves. we can do it because we have the people to do it. if we organize the people that we have come out tomorrow is ours. if we fail to organize, we will not have it. any and every problem of now -- the problems of now are voter -- the problem of now is voter it is well to have it but we will have to have about 700,000 people organized on every block in black america in order to make it work. if you do not want to work, you cannot have it. if you are willing to work, you can have whatever you want. we can solve any problem we have. all of our major organizations top of joining together.-- talk

of joining together. every organization knows that this will create a new movement. we need those that can lead it. we need those who are their own leaders to create a world in which we can operate. we are still the movement for change, the new people's movement for change. every struggle makes a greater struggle necessary. this is what we are here for. let us leave here and do it. [applause] >> let us call chairman lafayette to join c.t. vivian to present this award. who's got the mic to give dr. lowery?

dr. joseph lowery. y'all moved that umbrella. he does not wear polka dots. >> thank you, thank you for those kind words. thank you, c.t., those eloquent words. i think god -- thank god for the privilege to be here with you today. 50 years ago, i never dreamed that when we had the committee with dr. kean to march -- dr king -- dr. king -- we never dreamed we would be here 50 years later.

we never dreamed we would see an african american president. thank god we live not only long enough to see the march on washington, but to see an african-american president. i was looking through some old sermons. i am going to preach it again. found one i dusted off and i willthe name of it was,preach it again. "everything has changed and nothing has changed." that is where we are in america. everything has changed and nothing has changed. as we look at the parents of the young man from florida, as we look at people like johnny ford

and others on the platform -- i am not sure what they are doing, but they are getting ready to do something. i want to say to you that everything has changed and nothing has changed. we have come up here for two reasons. not just to come to washington, we come to washington to commemorate. we go back home to agitate. i do not think you heard me. we come to washington to commemorate. we are going back home to agitate. because while many things have changed, some things have not changed. we want to go back home to complete the unfinished tasks. we come to washington to commemorate. we go back home to agitate. i do not think you heard me.

we come to washington to commemorate. we are going back home to agitate. we come to washington to commemorate. we are going back home to agitate. somebody ought to help me. we come to washington to commemorate. we are going back home to agitate. one more time. we come to washington to commemorate. we are going back home -- i want to hear from the people by the pool. we come to washington to what? and we are going back home -- we have come a long, long way and we have a long way to go. god bless you and keep you, and thank you for acknowledging me. i see sister king over there. i will not do all the talking

and not let her say anything. i stand with the women. you will not hit me to take a-- you will not get me to takeposition against the women. a positionposition against the women. hello. hello. god bless you and keep you. we will work for that day when justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream. we will not be asked to give back. will work for.we that day when black will not be asked to get back andwhen brown can stick around. when yellow can be mellow. and when white will behave all right. we come to washington to commemorate. we are going back home -- >> reverend lowery.

give him a hand. are we ready to march? do not start ganging up. king is going to give us a plan elder berniceking is going to give us a plan a prayer. then we will start lining up. why do we march? governor deval patrick is here from massachusetts. he did not want to talk. he has come to march. we march because in the 1950's it was it till -- emmitt till. now it is trayvon martin. let me bring the family of emmett till and the parents of trayvon martin. [cheers and applause]

give them some of. >> thank you.-- give them some love. >> they say i have one minute. in mississippi, they were generous with the time. on this day, 58 years ago, it was the location for the dream. my cousin and i, emmett till, my brother and my nephew, we went to a little town in money, mississippi. while we were there, emmett whistled at carolyn bryant. because he was so, he was killed and shot in the head. we cried.

our hearts were broken -- because he whistled, he was killed and shot in the head. because of what is happening in our country, when an american stock to another americanother american and shoot him down like a dog -- stalks another american and shoot him like a dog, it is time to do something. listen to me.it is crying time again. i was so upset that i take the of these segregationists. i wanted to see who was supporting them. i wanted to see who was a -- who was buying advertising time. i saw a two japanese automobile makers. i have one of those automobiles. before i buy that automobile again, i will buy a skateboard.

we have to change the system, young people. this is your homework. go home and see who is supporting these big hits on our -- these bigots on our television. do something about it. do not buy their products. they tell me they are british. they fired their guns and the british kept coming. it fired once more and the british began to run. they fired -- they fired once more and the british began to run.but we are not going to run. they fired the second shot when they shot medgar evers. they fired the second shot when they shot dr. kean -- king. we are not going to run. we are going to change this system. thank you so much. [applause]

>> the mother of trayvon martin, miss sybrina fullton. -- fulton. >> as i said before, trayvon martin was my son. he is not just my son, he is all of our sons. we have to fight for our children. it is very important that we not forget, that we make sure we are mindful what is -- of what is going on with the law. remember that god is in control. thank you. >> let us prepared to march. we will be led in prayer. they will get you grid by grid. let us hear from the one who convened these five days, the ceo of the team -- king center in atlanta, georgia, elder king.

-- elder bernice king. [applause] >> if you would connect hands to whomever you are near, we are going to play.-- we are going to pray. god of our silent tears. our weary years. god who has brought us thus far on the way. god, we thank you that you continue to be with us to every situation and circumstance. we bless you, lord god, for this great august body of people who have assembled here 50 years later. we thank you, god, that the spirit that inspired those 50 years ago is inspiring us today, either.

-- father. we are continuing the struggle. as my mother said, freedom is a never ending process. --in this generation, we are taking a baton and we are determined to be vigilant until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like the mighty stream. we pray that you will bind us together like never before regardless of our background and regardless of our differences. give us the strength and the courage and the humility to transcend those differences that we might be able to join together as a freedom forced to continue to move this nation and this world thisforce -- force to continue to move this nation we thank you that on

this dayall things have passed away ,and all things are being made new. we thank you,, lord god -- you, lord god, that there was a joshua generation. with every step that we take, we are stomping on the enemies of our progress. we thank you, lord god, that we are stomping on those that keep us -- seek to keep us separated and divided. we thank you that we are stomping against violence and and discrimination and inequality. we thank you that we are stomping against those who think they have the audacity to stand their ground and take lives senselessly. we thank you that the stand your ground laws are defeated. as we march together, we walked together like children and we

will not get weary. we hold on to gena like children. we struggle and -- we hold on together like children.we will not get weary. we struggle, we fight and we fuss together and get over it and we continue to march together like children andwe pray together so we do not get tired. we know that at some point we will all be able to join with dr. king and say free at last, free at last, thank god almighty, free at last. thank you, and in jesus' name, amen. >> let us set up our front >> we must repeal stand

your ground. [indiscernible] [indiscernible chanting] ♪indiscernible chanting]

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ we will have more on the 50th anniversary of the march on washington this weekend on c- span including a ceremony wednesday with president obama at the lincoln memorial. clintonresident bill and jimmy carter are expected to participate with live coverage on c-span. coming up next, [video clip] " washington journal." after that, debbie wasserman shelter will talk about a variety of issues.

after that, civil rights leaders and labor activist workers will discuss how the -- how economic inequality are present 50 years after the march on washington for jobs and freedom. >> i am frustrated when i see so much loss of local journalism. a lot of this national journalism is not as good if you don't have that local journalism. , lot of what i do is watching reading local and state stories and seeing what is happening at that level and figuring out how it is bubbling up to the national level. if there is not on -- if there is not people on the ground doing that work, national journalism suffers quite a bit. i hope someone figures out how to keep that sustainable and keep those people in place.